Pressure controller for oil wells



Oct 20, v. YORK PRESSURE CONTROLLER FOR OIL WELLS Filed Aug. 28. 1922 TTUJNEYS.

L UNITED STATES' 4'vlo'ljon YORK, oF Los A'NGELrscALIFoRNIn, Ass-IGNOR oF.. ONE-HALF 'ro Patented .Oct 20,1925. f

PATENT orsi-CE.;

WALTER. e.I

BLACK, OF WHITTIEB.,

PRESSURE CONTROLLER FOR OIL WELLS.l

" all whom li1? ,may coment:

., o Be it known that I, VICTOR YORK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, inthe county of Los'Angeles and VState of California, have invented fa. new

and useful Pressure Controller. for Oil Wells, of which the following. is a specification. "L f This invention relates to oil well drilling equipment and relates particularly to hydraulic rotary drilling equipment.

. It is an object of the invention to provide a means by which a tight closure or seal. be-

tween the rotary drill pipe and the head of the casing maybe maintained during .the drilling operations in orderto permit aA without excessive caving- Thel mud also tends to mud u the formations containing gas or oil an lthe static pressure exerted b .this mud on these formations prevents oll'and gas from prematurely blowing into' the well which .may be disastrous when heavy gas pressures are encountered.' n

such cases'the gas may blow the mud-laden` liquid out ,of the well thus relievin the pressure further. Such premature lilowoutsoften result in the blowing of tools out of the well, and in extreme cases in an' entire loss of the `well due to fire or to the.y

heavy gas pressure. c It is a further Aob'ect of my invention to provide means for y fluid in the well while the drilling is in progress and to provide means by which additional mud may be suppliedand extra pressure may be applied to the Well during the drilling operation. i v

It Iis a'further object of the invention to provide a device of this character which may be installedwith standard equipment now employed, having a piston adapted to be inserted in a drilling string between the drill stem and the toplength of drill pip, the installation of additional lengths f drill pipe as the drilling progresses, being olding the mud laden Appucauo 11a-'aangaat es, 192e. seriai- 111. 534,919;l

accomplished by` breaking the joint between the piston member and the'top lengths of drill pipe 'Y and' inserting the additional length therebetween.

" The especial advantages ofmy invention' and further objects thereof will'be made evident hereinafter.

Referring to the drawing illustrative purposes only: C

Fig.v 1 is a fragmentary elevational sec-v tion showing the driving equipment and the upper end of a well'casing employed in a well being drilled by rotary equipment, this view' disclosing an embodiment-fof` my invention in use. L

Fig. 2 is a section takeny upon a plane represented by the line 2-2- of Fig. 1.

In rotaryfdrilling practice it is customary. to place a rotary table 11 upon'the derrick platform 12 under which a pit or cellar 13 is dug providing access to the upper end of a well casing 14. Upon the upper end 15 of the casing 14 a lateral outlet litting 16 is'mounted throughwhicli the overflow mu-d rising through the casing may 'discharge through piping 18 in to an overflow sump. By means of a close nipple v19, l mount upon the fitting 16 -a flange 20 hava spherical seat 21, upon which rests a- 1n sperical bottom flanged member 22, thus providing all joint.

Into the member-22 a ltubular 'member 24 l having a cylindrical bore 25 lis threaded,

this member 24 extendingv down into the betweenthe members and 22 a casing 14; and being of somewhat smaller l external diameter than the insidel of the cas-- ing, the tubular member 24 leaves a passage therearound, through which the s overflow may pass to the outlet provided by thelit` ting 16. vThreaded intothe upperend-'oir' the member 22 isa flared nipple 29 vwhich provides a guide to assist in -centralizingmembers being'lowered through the tubular member 24 into the casing. pon the lower end of the drill stem 35V a tool joint Abox- 36 is screwed having a length o pipe 3Zfex-- tending downwardly therefrom to' which is screwed a tool joint pipe 38. Spaed apart upon the pipe 37 by sleeves 40 are mounted'v 105 a number of piston members 41 carrying piston rings 42 which vform a seal with' the ore of the tubular 'member 24, and are slidably and turnably 'disposed therein, so that the advance and the rotation of the ,line of drill pipeis net interfered with .inv

any wayy Incase of Striking a pocket of gas, the seal provided by the piston 43, comprised of. the smaller piston members41, prevents -the mud from blowing up through the ron ary type of rotaryequipment'is employed. It may be further seen that it is ossible to close down the valve 48, situate in thel line 18, soas to resist fthereacting pressure .encountered in alwell. v Y 'It i's-urther possible by the use of my i device to 4restrict the overflow of lubricating.

i mud from thewell so 'that the mud pump 50 which deliverslubricating mud through. thestand pipe 51 and the hose 52 tothe swivelhead of the drilling line, may pump a pressure on the interior of the Well, so that .the mud leaving the drill will be forced out into crevicesand voids which may be encountered inthe drilling.

' When; it is desired Ato place an additional length of drill pipe in the'drilling line,A the drillinglineI is lifted through the tubular member '24ev to a position above the rotary table 11, and the tool joint between the pipe 37 and the drill pipe'38 uncoupled. The new i' length of drill pipe is then inserted between theupper end of the line o-drill pipe andthepipe37- which forms the piston member. The lower piston ring 42 is preferably vprovided with ajpacking indicated at or the purpose of preventing leakage of welll pressure between thev rings` and the .piston ,43.

I claim as my invention: 4

1. In a device of the character described,`

. tubular member.-

2. `A device as in claim 1 in 'which means is provided for supplying a fluid pressure to the' space between said tubular member and said casing. e

3. InA a device of the character described, the combination' of: a casing; 'a tubular member secured so as to extend inside said i pass m/to said casing; and for makin a string of drill pipe adapted to packing means a fluid-tight joint between the exterior o saiddrill pipe and the interior casing ofsaid tubular member,vsaid vpacking means comprising a hollow member laced Vbetween the drill/stem and ythe drill'pipe of said string, and members carried upon said hollow member lfitting in the bore thereof. 4. In combination-z a casing; a' tubular fluid therefrom.

member; means for securing said tubular 06 member to and within said casing.; a drill pipe arranged to extend into 'said' casing; a` hollow member adap-ted for disposal in' said drill pipe; and members carried ib said hollow member for providing a flui 70 tight joint between said drill pipe and saidv tubular member. *Y

5. In-c'ombination: a casing; a tubular member; means for securing said tubular member to and within said casing; a-drill 'la pipe arranged to extend into said. casing; a hollow member adapted for disposal in said drill pipe; piston members arrangedl on 'said hollow member and arranged to engage the interior of said tubular member; and spacers arranged on said hollow member bel tween said vpiston members.

6. An organization as specified in claim 5 vin whichsaid pistons are provided with piston rings. for providinga positive seal"l between said pistons and said tubular mem.

ber. f' e y 7. In an oil well, the combination of r'a tubular member; means for securing said".

member in fluid-tight relationship with the walls of the well; a string of drill pipe of such size as to readily passwith its neces-i' saryA connections through said tubular mem-v ber; and members carried by. said drill p`pe y adapted to make a fluid-tight connection etween said drillpipe and said tubular member. l

' v8. In an. oil well, the combination ofi a f tubular member; a casing-secured in gastight relationship with the walls of the well; means for providing a .gas-tight joint between said casing and said memberg. a` string of drill pipe of such size as toreadil pass with its necessary connections throug said tubular member; and members carried 1025` by said` drill pipe adapted to make a luidtight connection betweensaid'drill pipe and sald tubular member. i

9. Ina rotary oil well drilling device, the. combination of: a rotary table; av drill lpipe carrying drilling tools, said drill p1pe norl mally projecting downwardly into vthewell through said rotary table; a tubular `mem-y ber situated below said rotaryv tableand having an internal bore through which said 11 5 drill pipe and its associated drillin tubes and other equipment may be rea ily inserted and withdrawn, said t-ubular '-mem' ber bein-g secured in Huid-tight relationship with the walls of said well; and enlarged portions carried by said drill pipe and f1ttin inte the bore of said tubular member in suc a manner as to prevent the egress of In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Los Angeles, California, this 22nd day of August, 1922.

l (VICTOR YORK. 

